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Having earned herself a
considerable following as a result of her number 1 album The Project connecting with fans on both sides of the Atlantic, and
following a brief visit to the UK earlier this month as tour support for
country superstar Chris Young, it’s fair to say things are looking fairly rosy
for Lindsay Ell, but that’s not to say she’s resting on her laurels. Instead,
currently working on her next LP, Lindsay is looking forward to a bright and
ambitious future, and she spoke to ThisIsTheLatest
to chat musical influences, future performance plans and where she most finds
inspiration for her songs.

TITL: Given that you were discovered at the age
of 13, is it safe to say that music has been always been your passion or
have there been times when you’ve felt even slightly swayed to follow a
different path?

Lindsay Ell: Music has always been such a passion of mine ever
since I was a little girl. I started playing shows at such a young
age, that by the time I was 10, I fell in love with performing in front of
an audience. I knew that my heart felt at home playing on stage, and
nothing came close to giving me that same feeling!

TITL: Which bands and artists are you most
influenced by and how do they impact the music you make?

LE: I listen to so many different kinds of music. When I
was growing up I listened to everything in between Shania Twain and Garth
Brooks to Tommy Emmanuel. Of course, I will always be inspired by John
Mayer, and Keith Urban. Currently I’m listening to a lot of Lany, Lauv and
Janelle Monae.

TITL: Tell me a little about
your recent collaboration with Brantley Gilbert “What Happens In A Small
Town”. How did the two of you come together to work on the track?

LE: I was so grateful that when
Brantley and his record label head, Scott Borchetta, sat down to brainstorm who
they wanted to be a part of this duet, they thought of me. I am honored to
be a part of this song, and feel that although Brantley and I aren’t the first
two names you’d think of to put together in a duet, that is what makes it so
special. My favorite collaborations are ones of two artists you wouldn’t
immediately think of performing something together. That is what makes it
unique. That is what makes it special.

TITL: In terms of your lyrics and general
song-writing from who or from where do you find most of your inspiration?

LE: Carole King, Lori McKenna and Brandi Carlile are some of
my favorite songwriters but I
personally get inspired by so many different things. Through traveling a lot,
all over the world, I find myself constantly being inspired by different
cultures and people watching.

TITL: You’re currently working on a new album,
the follow up to your US number 1 LP The
Project. Is there anything you can tell me about it or are you keeping
things hush hush for now?

LE: I’ve been writing a lot towards the next record. A
lot has happened in my personal life and my career in the past two years,
so I think fans are going to be able to see that on this next album. Song-writing
in a lot of ways becomes my therapy.

As someone who has performed on both sides of the
Atlantic, have you noticed any similarities or differences between audiences
here and back home?

Getting to play music for fans across the world is so
incredible. Fans definitely differ a little bit from country to country.
The think that I have always loved about UK audiences is fans want to listen to
the song-writing and the music. As a guitar player, and someone who loops
sometimes in live sets, it is amazing to play for an audience that appreciates
musicality to that degree.

TITL: For anyone who hasn’t seen you before, what
can they expect from a performance of yours?

LE: Hopefully anyone coming to watch our show can walk away
with feeling like they got to see some real music. I try to put on a
dynamic set, with lots of epic guitar solo moments, and intimate acoustic
songs. I like to take the audience through a journey while I’m up there. If
I can make them laugh, cry, and want to dance in the same set I’ve done my job.

TITL: If you could put together your dream show
with four bands or artists, living or dead, who would you choose and where
would you play?

LE: That’s always a hard question…. I would have to say Jimi
Hendrix, John Mayer, Ray Charles, and Stevie Wonder. If you’d ask me that
question again I probably would have a different answer every time, because
it’s so hard for me to narrow down my list of artists I look up to. But we’ll
start there.

TITL: Finally then, what does the rest of the
year have in store for you?

LE: We will be touring a lot over the next year. We’re
just at the start of music festival season…and Brantley Gilbert and I will be
touring together later this fall. Having just finished up a tour here in
the UK, I’m already planning on the next time I can get to come back again. I’m
hoping on a few shows this fall, and then coming back early in the new year!

Check out “What Happens In A
Small Town” below and for more information on Lindsay Ell, visit her website, give her page a like on Facebook or follow her
on Twitter.

They say siblings share most things. For the majority, that means clothes and other day to day items, but for Jared and Jordan, aka The Band Gooch, the one key thing they share and bond over is their love of music. Inspired first and foremost by Green Day, the two brothers have just dropped their new album ‘Modern High’, and are currently working on putting together some tour dates. They spoke to ThisIsTheLatest and spilled the beans on the two venues they’d love to play, their views on social media and how they’d like to start a revolution with and through their music.

TITL: What sets The Band Gooch apart from all the other acts out there today?

TBG: I think there are a couple things that set us apart from other acts out there today. First, we are not making music simply to get rich and famous. That is not our goal and never has been. Our band to us is more than just a rock band, it’s a lifestyle, a culture. To us it’s a symbol of freedom and liberty, meant to inspire people to do and be more. To us it’s a community of people brought together by music, living their best lives, being completely free. The other thing that would set us apart would be our musical taste. There are a lot of acts out there who are into a little more electronic type music. We write music with the idea that, it needs to be able to truly be played live, and sound just as good if not better live. No BS. You don’t see that anymore.

TITL: As siblings, do you find or have you found that your musical tastes are very similar or different and how have those tastes and influences filtered through into the music you make?

Jared: For the most part our music tastes are very
similar. We are both very into classic rock, punk rock, a lot of 80s and 90s
stuff. That’s the foundation of what we do. We differ in other things. For
example I’m into Enya, I love Brad Paisley and things like that. Jordan is way
into Lord Huron, Young The Giant and other acts like that. Having a foundation
of similarity with different flares really makes creating music fun and
interesting for us. We go the same direction, but keep it interesting.

TITL: What would you
each say the other brings to the band?

Jared: We each bring personality I think. I bring
passion I think, sometimes probably a little too much for the band! I can get a
little OCD with things, but that’s okay. I do a lot of the melody work, a lot
of guitar and bass, foundation work and lyrics. Jordan brings the flash and
style. He is really good at spicing up bass lines, adding good guitar solos or
spicing things up a bit. He also brings a lot of passion in his own way. He is
more relaxed and easy going which is good to have, it keeps it loose and we all
have fun.

TITL: Family
relationships are hard at the best of times, so how do the two of you deal with
any personal or artistic differences that might cause tensions within the
band?

TBG: We are super close in age and we are extremely close but also have always had differences growing up. We prefer it this way. We can have a huge fight and disagree on everything, which has happened multiple times, but at the end of the day, we are still brothers so things get resolved easy. Anyone else is not so easy, people get pissed, bands break up and that’s that.

TITL: Which three
bands, collectively, would you say TBG is most influenced by?

TBG: First and foremost Green Day. We love their music, and their live presence is second to none. Second would be Metallica, for the same reasons. Third would probably be a general collection of 80’s rock mixed with artists ranging from Enya to Metallica new or old.

TITL: What can you
tell me about your new album Modern High?

TBG: Modern
High is a rock album about Modern Society. It talks about the good the bad
and the ugly about life in the modern age. We have more luxuries than ever, yet
people seem to be more stressed out and anxious than ever. People seem to care
more than ever what other people think about them, they have distractions
everywhere they look, expectations to manage, and life is just chaotic all the
time. Modern High is an album of
anthems preaching liberty. Fuck the modern age, what other people think, it
doesn’t matter. What matters is doing what you love, being your best, and being
happy. Too many people spend time living for someone else. Fuck that. It’s your
life, live it your way. Start the business, make the album, marry that girl, do
whatever you want. Just don’t spend your life trying to please everyone and
stop measuring your life by likes and follows. Modern High is a classic punk
album preaching liberty.

TITL: Could you pick a
favourite track from the collection? What is it about those songs that mean and
matter so much to you?

Jared: Mine would probably be “Rebel Inside”. That
is one of the more personal songs I wrote. It’s about my wife, and finding
perfection in her imperfections.

TITL: Are there any
summer/fall tour plans lined up to promote the album?

TBG: We are working on that now! We are going to be
booking some shows around the west coast later this year and/or next.

TITL: Which venue
anywhere in the world would you most like to play and who would you choose to
support you?

TBG: Probably the Emirates Stadium or Old Trafford, both in England. We’d of course want to play with Green Day but I think they are a little too big to support us, so we’d support them! If we had to choose a supporting act, I don’t know; I think we’d find someone we like who puts on a good show and bring them along.

TITL: You’ve already
been praised by the likes of Ghost Cult
Magazine and PunkNews.org, but
what’s the biggest thing anyone has or could write/say about you? What is or
would be the ultimate compliment?

TBG: The best thing is when someone who has never been to a show before, or hears our music for the first time reaches out or comes up after a show and says; “I just found this song, it is AMAZING!” OR “You guys are way better than I expected – I had no idea you guys were this good. I thought you’d be okay but you guys are an actual band rock band!” Or: “You guys sound way better live than you do on your album!”Or: “You guys put on an actual rock show, that was amazing, I feel bad I haven’t come yet! I did not expect this at all!” These are all real quotes from people, and these are the best compliments. When someone listens to our music, or comes to a show and has a great time.

TITL: To what extent
has and does social media impact your ability to reach an audience? How much of
your following might you say has come as a result of you posting/sharing your
music on the likes of Twitter and Facebook?

TBG: Twitter zero. I think we have one but we are never on it. We do most our marketing on Facebook and Instagram. The thing with social media is it’s an amazing tool for reaching people all over the world. We can share our brand and our story and connect with fans and that is really fun. We love talking to people that find and like our music. The problem is, everyone is always getting crap thrown in their face and it is distracting, so the market is super saturated. Also on a personal note, we hate social media because it is addicting and we think at this point it’s more of a problem and a distraction to society than a solution. So it sucks. I am not sure how much of a following comes from it, probably a pretty good amount. But we really don’t spend as much time on social media as we “should”.

TITL: Looking further
down the line, where to you want TBG to be five, ten years from now? When they
write the history book of music, what would you like to see written about the
two of you and the music you left/shared with the world?

The Band Gooch: Good question. At the end of the day, we aren’t doing this for money and fame. If we wanted that we’d do pretty much anything else, there is almost no money and no fame in this business. We do this because it is WHO we are. This is our life’s work, and whether or not it works out for us tomorrow, next year, five years or after we are dead it doesn’t matter. This is WHO we are and it is what we do. We are doing it because we want to show people you CAN do what you love, and you SHOULD do what you love. That there is more to life than money, likes and follows. The world needs a revolution, it needs to get back to its roots and that is why we exist. We just so happen to make awesome rock music, so what better way to start a revolution?

For more information on The Band Gooch, visit their website
or give their page a like on Facebook.
Their album Modern High is available
now.

Related

It’s amazing what an idea can do. After dropping out of college and moving to LA, following managing a big pet boutique for a while, CEO Fields had the idea to launch his own fitness company for dogs. With business going well, Fields went on to invest his profits wisely and made his first million in two years.

This rags to riches story was personified and showcased for all to see and hear on Fields’ debut single “25/8” , which highlighted just how far perseverance and dedication to what you do can get you and now, with his business established, his position in the music world set on a solid foundation and his following on the rise, he’s sharing his latest work in the form of new single “Yours”, which ThisIsTheLatest are delighted to premiere.

Asked about the new release, Fields says:

“Yours is my version of a love song for the Boss Woman out there that has my heart and all of my attention. After ’25/8′ I wanted to speak to the women so that they know I have something for them too. It’s a fun song, both empowering and raunchy.”

Give “Yours” a listen below and for more information on CEO Fields, give his page a like on Facebook or follow him on Twitter and Instagram.